ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mike Piazza hit his 424th homer, had four hits and drove in a season-high five runs, powering the Oakland Athletics to a 12-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday night.
Piazza hit a two-run shot — his fifth of the year — off Brian Stokes to extended the A's lead to 10-1 in the sixth. The designated hitter, who missed 68 games this season with a right shoulder injury, put Oakland ahead 1-0 on a run-scoring double in the first, had a fourth-inning RBI single and a run-scoring double in the eighth.
Chad Gaudin (10-9) allowed one run over seven innings and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer for the Athletics (65-64), who moved over the .500 mark for the first time since July 7. Oakland has won five in a row, matching a season high.
Tampa Bay, which has allowed 10 or more runs 21 times this year, got within 6-1 on Akinori Iwamura's RBI single in the third. The Devil Rays, with the major's worst record at 48-79, are 15-39 since June 25.
Gaudin scattered five hits, walked two and set a career high with 10 strikeouts. He improved to 2-6 in nine starts since the All-Star break.
Cust hit a two-run homer off Jason Hammel (1-4) during a five-run second that gave Oakland a 6-0 lead. Shannon Stewart added a two-run double and Nick Swisher drove in a run with a double.
INDIANS 3, TIGERS 1: At Detroit,pinch-hitter Kenny Lofton's infield single off Joel Zumaya drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning, and the Indians beat Detroit. Cleveland's Jake Westbrook allowed five hits and two walks — one intentional — over eight innings.
MARINERS 9, RANGERS 4: At Arlington, Texas, Ichiro Suzuki hit a three-run double and Seattle also got homers from Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro during a seven-run sixth inning against Texas. Jeff Weaver (6-10) won his fourth straight start in August for the Mariners, who are 18-7 since a seven-game losing streak last month.
TWINS 5, ORIOLES 2: At Baltimore, Boof Bonser pitched seven innings of three-hit ball to earn his first win since June 10, and Minnesota took advantage of shoddy fielding by Baltimore. Steve Trachsel (6-8) took a three-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning, but the Twins capitalized on three walks and two errors to score four runs.
BLUE JAYS 5, ANGELS 4: At Anaheim, Calif., Toronto rookie Jesse Litsch scattered six hits and pitched into the seventh inning, leading the Blue Jays to a victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The loss trimmed the Angels' AL West lead to one game over Seattle, a 9-4 winner at Texas. Matt Stairs doubled home a pair of runs and scored another as the Blue Jays came from behind with a three-run fifth inning against Ervin Santana.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DODGERS 5, PHILLIES 2: At Philadelphia,Chad Billingsley struck out seven in seven innings to earn his first victory in a month and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies. Billingsley (8-4) allowed one run and four hits, winning for the first time since he beat Houston on July 23. Juan Pierre drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single in the seventh inning.
GIANTS 4, CUBS 1: At San Francisco, Matt Cain outpitched and even outslugged opposing starter Carlos Zambrano, shutting down the Cubs for seven innings and hitting his second career home run. Cain (6-13) has won three of his last four starts — including both starts he homered in — after winning just three of his first 22 this season.
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 1: At Denver, Josh Phelps had three RBIs and a career-high four hits, and Paul Maholm scattered seven hits over seven innings for the Pirates. Phelps, who was acquired off waivers from the New York Yankees on June 22, went 4-for-5 in his sixth start for the Pirates. Maholm (10-14) allowed a run, walked two and struck out five in winning for the fifth time in seven starts.
PADRES 9, METS 8 (10): At New York, Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th inning and San Diego outlasted New York in a wild, 10-inning game that included blown saves by Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman. The Padres took two of three from the NL East leaders in a potential playoff preview. San Diego increased its lead in the wild-card race to two games over Philadelphia.
REDS 9, BRAVES 7 (12): At Cincinnati, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning to give Cincinnati its third straight win. Mark Teixeira homered and Chipper Jones matched a career high with five RBIs.
MARLINS 11, CARDINALS 3: At St. Louis, Josh Willingham homered twice with a career-best six RBIs, including a grand slam in the third inning, helping Florida stop an eight-game losing streak.
NATIONALS 7, ASTROS 6: At Houston, Ronnie Belliard capped a five-run first inning with a two-run homer, and Austin Kearns had three hits. Washington roughed up Astros rookie Juan Gutierrez (0-1) in his first major league start, tagging him for another run in the third.